February 7, 2009<br>
Daily Telegraph<br>
Sydney Confidential<br>
By Annette Sharp, additional reporting: Marcus Casey, Joel Christie and Jen Melocco<br><br>

Wenham sticks up for Nicole<br><br>

HE may play the villain in the outback melodrama but Australia actor David Wenham is a nice guy when it comes to his co-stars, sticking up for pal Nicole Kidman and the toxic reviews she has been bombarded with since the film premiered in November.<br><br>

While the Sydneysider managed to escape a lot of attention associated with the Baz Luhrman flick, with the heat turning to Kidman and Hugh Jackman after international reviews slammed everything from production to performance, Wenham told Confidential the criticisms were "unfair''.<br><br>

"She [Kidman] has received this barrage of nasty personal press and I just can't work out why," he said.<br><br>

"That movie could never be considered a flop. It's no mega-hit but it's not a flop."<br><br>

And he's on to something, with figures showing Australia is the second highest-grossing Aussie movie with $310 million.